In the town of Manacas, located in the Santo Domingo municipality of Villa Clara, family, friends, and neighbors gathered to bid farewell to the remains of political prisoner Yan Carlos González. He passed away following a hunger strike that lasted over 50 days, protesting what he considered an unjust conviction.
The wake and subsequent burial took place amid a tense atmosphere, as recounted by eyewitnesses. During the cemetery gathering, someone close to González shared words reportedly spoken by him before his death: “I won’t comply with anyone… if I did it, I would die fulfilling what I did, because I know I did it and I would keep quiet because I did it. But if I didn’t do it, I’d leave this prison feet first.”
Another witness confirmed that during a prison visit, González expressed a similar sentiment: “He told us he would leave there free, feet first, because he wasn’t going to serve 20 years for something he didn’t do. The real culprit is out on the street, but they blamed him.”
The funeral concluded with chants of “Long live Yan Carlos!”—a demonstration of both grief and tribute to someone who, as his close ones claim, died defending his innocence.
Human Rights Organizations Condemn the Lack of Medical Care
His death was publicly confirmed by the human rights organization Cubalex, which had been warning for weeks about his extreme health deterioration and the lack of medical attention in Cuban prisons.
Cubalex reported that González began his protest in April 2025 after learning of the prosecutor’s request for a two-decade prison sentence for allegedly setting cane fields on fire in Santo Domingo. According to the organization, he was “accused without evidence” and was held in La Pendiente prison before being transferred to a hospital with a “grim prognosis.”
A Family's Outrage at the Injustice
The case of Yan Carlos González has sparked outrage among his family and human rights advocates. His wife, Elena Pérez Uz, claims that his civic activism put him on the system’s radar. “The system turned him into a political prisoner because by judging him without evidence, they made him a political prisoner, and the lawyer said so in court,” Pérez Uz told Martí Noticias.
Pérez recounted that the legal proceedings began after a cane field fire on May 16, 2024. Her husband was arrested the next day solely based on testimony that he had threatened to set fire to cane fields if the power outages continued. She noted that he began reducing his food intake on April 4 and stopped eating entirely on May 17, marking the anniversary of his arrest.
During this time, González sewed his lips and eyelids as an extreme form of protest, as confirmed by Cubalex. The lack of medical care was repeatedly condemned. According to his wife, he arrived at the hospital extremely dehydrated with already compromised kidneys. He also suffered from severe pneumonia, kidney failure, and liver bleeding. “They released him when he was dying, but it was already too late,” lamented activist Isis Ro.
An Ongoing Crisis in Cuban Prisons
González’s death is not an isolated incident. According to data collected by Cubalex, at least 37 people died under custody in Cuba during the first six months of 2025, with 23 of these deaths occurring in penitentiaries.
Understanding the Plight of Cuban Political Prisoners
What led Yan Carlos González to start a hunger strike?
Yan Carlos González initiated a hunger strike to protest what he believed was an unjust conviction for allegedly setting cane fields on fire without evidence.
How did the authorities respond to González's health deterioration?
Despite warnings from human rights organizations like Cubalex, González received inadequate medical attention, and his release came too late as his health had already severely deteriorated.
What was the legal basis for González's arrest and conviction?
González was arrested based on testimony that he had threatened to burn cane fields if power outages continued, but was convicted without concrete evidence linking him to the crime.